Thousands of middle-class pupils in Scotland do not read and write well
despite ministers’ claims that there are no failing schools, according to
the first national literacy survey.

The Scottish Government report found that children from middle-income families are not much better writers than their peers in the poorest communities by the time they reach the second year of secondary school.

Taking into account all social backgrounds, one in ten youngsters at the end of primary school was not reading well for their age, a proportion that increased in the second year of secondary school to 17 per cent.

For writing, the totals were far worse, with more than a quarter P7 children and more than a third of those in S2 failing to flourish by the standards of the new Curriculum for Excellence.

There was a marked difference between the performance of children living in the wealthiest and poorest areas, but the writing results of middle-class children in S2 “tended towards performance of pupils in more deprived areas”.

If the results were reproduced across all secondary years, it means tens of thousands of pupils are not exceeding the expected benchmark for literacy. This was despite the pupils only needing to get 60 per cent in the reading test to do “well”.

The survey also found only around half pupils performed well in a listening and discussion exercise, while nearly half of S2 pupils admitted they only read books for lessons or homework.

It was published only weeks after Mike Russell, the Education Minister, admitted some schools are “coasting” but declared: “We don’t have failing schools in Scotland.”

Neil Findlay, Scottish Labour’s learning spokesman, said: “While it is good news many pupils across Scotland are achieving good results, those in deprived areas continue to struggle to perform as well as pupils in less deprived areas.”

Liz Smith, Scottish Tory education spokesman, said: “There is a continuing trend of general attainment levels slipping back between the middle years of primary school and the early years of secondary school.”

Around 10,100 pupils and 4,900 teachers from both state and independent schools participated in the Scottish Survey of Literacy and Numeracy last year.

Children in P4, P7 and S2 were assessed as performing in one of four categories – very well, well, “working within the level” required or failing to meet the expected standard altogether.

For the pupils who lived in an average middle-class area, 17 per cent in P4, nine per cent in P7 and 16 per cent in S2 did not perform well at reading.

As there are more than 370,000 primary pupils in Scotland and 293,000 at secondary school, this proportion indicates that tens of thousands of children are not flourishing.

For writing, 37 per cent of P4 children in the average middle-class area were not performing well. This proportion fell to 28 per cent in P7 before increasing to 39 per cent by the second year of secondary school.

The results were far worse for the listening and talking test, which involved a filmed group discussion lasting between 10 and 15 minutes.

Taking into account all social classes, 44 per cent of P4 and 42 per cent of P7 children did not perform well at this task, a proportion that increased to 54 per cent in S2.

Barely half (51 per cent) of S2 pupils agreed said their teachers “very often” help them understand lessons, while 37 per cent agreed that “learning is boring”.

Only 62 per cent of children in the second year of secondary school said they enjoyed reading and nearly half (47 per cent) said they “only read in school or for homework”.

The proportion of pupils who described themselves as “good” or “very good” at reading declined from 90 per cent in P4 to 69 per cent in S2.

Mr Russell has ruled out publishing exam league tables but has announced a plan to pair underperforming schools in poor areas with those in the same communities that have achieved better results.

Unveiling the survey, Alasdair Allan, the Scottish Learning Minister, said: ““Schools across Scotland are doing a good job and we know from recent inspection reports that they continue to improve.

“We are committed to improving literacy and breaking the link with deprivation. Although it follows historical and international trends, it is not acceptable that those in deprived areas do less well.”